The pastor shut the door and windows, switched on his phone's torch because the room was dark, held her and began touching her breasts. Oluremi Sokoya, 28, said she lied that her father needed her urgently to escape his grip.
Sokoya had joined a Pentecostal church in Ikorodu, Lagos, in January 2022, expecting a place to worship and grow in her faith. Instead, her generosity made her stand out to the pastor. What started with compliments about her giving turned into financial exploitation and alleged sexual abuse.
Sokoya, an entrepreneur, had been a member of the church for more than a year and served on the pastor's protocol team before she left in June 2023. According to an investigative report by Saturday PUNCH, the pastor, who was in his late 40s, first noticed her because of the size of her tithes and offerings.
"He called me one service and said he noticed I gave well to the Lord and encouraged me to continue, saying that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. That was when it began," she told PUNCH.
The pastor began checking on her whenever she missed church because of work and would visit her home because she lived close to the church. Their relationship then shifted towards money and church projects.
"From there, he started talking about church projects I could help with and testimonies of how God blessed someone after giving sacrificially. I started to contribute to these projects. If I didn't, he would call my name at the altar and say I must drop some money," she recounted.
The pastor eventually gained control over her finances. She alleged she bought groceries, expensive clothes and shoes for the pastor and his family. He would sometimes take her debit card to make purchases.
"This bald man who calls himself a pastor, whom I can never in my life respect, began to take advantage of my kindness. I was buying things for him and his family. I bought them groceries, expensive clothing and shoes. This pastor had complete control over my finances," she said.
Sokoya reached a point where she was spending money on the pastor that she could not spare for her own family. "At that time, I couldn't even take my money to buy a new shoe for my father, but I would be buying clothes for this man. I won't lie to you, I spent almost half a million on this man within months," she told PUNCH.
The alleged exploitation was not limited to money. Sokoya said the pastor inappropriately touched her and attempted to sexually abuse her on several occasions. She recalled one incident when the pastor allegedly asked her to bring food to his church office. She asked what he wanted to eat. He replied that he wanted bread and egg, but also wanted to "eat" her. She dismissed the comment as a joke because the pastor often joked with her.
When she arrived at his office with the food, he shut the door and windows, switched on his phone's torch because the room was dark, held her and began touching her breasts.
Sokoya later discovered the pastor was allegedly involved with other women, prompting her to leave the church. The matter was reported to police in May 2023, and about ₦400,000 was eventually refunded to Sokoya in instalments. PUNCH did not report a conviction against the pastor in connection with her allegations.
Sokoya's account formed part of a wider investigation into Nigerians who allegedly lost money while seeking financial, health or personal solutions through religious figures. The investigation found the alleged exploitation cuts across religious lines, with cases involving both Christian and Muslim clerics.
One Christian case involved a man identified as Uwakwe, who sought the help of a self-acclaimed prophet because he wanted his brother, who had left Nigeria in 1997, to return to the country. Uwakwe said he was persuaded to pay ₦6.2m for spiritual work.
The investigation also examined the activities of a self-acclaimed prophet, Cheya, in Enugu. Members alleged Cheya sold spiritual and material "prosperity products," including "miracle stickers," "spiritual dragons" and "Holy Ghost thunder." In July, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission secured Cheya's conviction after he pleaded guilty to charges that he obtained ₦136m from church members under false pretences between 2023 and February 2025. The court sentenced him to one year in prison with an option of a ₦500,000 fine and ordered the forfeiture of his landed property, with the proceeds to be used as restitution for victims.
The investigation also documented cases involving people who presented themselves as Islamic clerics. Police arraigned two self-proclaimed Islamic clerics, Saheed Aremu and Tolani Osuolale, over the alleged defrauding of a medical doctor of ₦280m. Police alleged the defendants convinced the doctor, Patrick Akaraiwe, that his money needed spiritual fortification before he could invest in property. They allegedly collected $200,000, said to be about ₦270m at the time, in three instalments. They were arraigned on charges including advance fee fraud.
According to Pulse.ng.
